X Air XR18 : Amazing Value, but totally dependent upon the software..

Firstly, this box is all that most small gigging bands will ever need in a mixer. 16 individual inputs, the feature set is extensive and well documented. Sound quality is great for the price, it's pretty well built, there is an extensive FX rack - it's incredible for the money!

But - how they manage to make this affordable is to remove almost every hardware control interface, and that's really my only concern. You are completely reliant on the (albeit free) software app in order for it be useable, without that, it's just a big paperweight - and be aware that Behringer have not updated their control app for over a year now. There are 3rd party apps which do a better job in any case, but understand that at some point, app development will certainly stop, ultimately rendering the mixer useless. Who knows when that will happen, but it's important to bear in mind if you are going to keep this for any length of time.

Software reliant tech has been around for a while and always eventually comes to the end of it's "product cycle" as the manufacturers call it. At that point it's junk.

So to sum up, fantastic value as long as the software app is maintained. The box cannot be considered without the software, so that's where the stars are lost.